From Street Vendor to Imperial Favorite

In the twilight years of Empress Wu Zetian’s unprecedented reign (690–705 CE), two controversies dominated historical criticism: her reliance on secret police and her open relationships with male favorites. Among these favorites, none rose—or fell—as dramatically as Feng Xiaobao, later known as Xue Huaiyi.

A charismatic street peddler hawking herbal remedies in Luoyang, Feng Xiaobao’s life changed when he caught the eye of a maidservant serving Princess Qianjin—a Tang royal who had ingratiated herself with Wu Zetian to survive political purges. When the princess discovered their affair, she spared Feng, struck by his striking appearance and charm. Recognizing an opportunity, she “gifted” him to the empress, then regent for her son Emperor Ruizong.

To legitimize Feng’s presence in the palace, Wu Zetian orchestrated his transformation: he was tonsured as a Buddhist monk (adopting the name Huaiyi) and adopted into the prestigious Xue family through her son-in-law Xue Shao. Now “Xue Huaiyi,” he became abbot of Luoyang’s White Horse Temple, a position granting him unchecked access to the empress.

Architect of Legitimacy: Feng’s Political Roles

As Wu Zetian prepared to claim the throne in 690, Feng played three pivotal roles in consolidating her power:

1. The Mingtang Project
Tasked with constructing the Mingtang (“Hall of Enlightenment”), a Confucian symbol of imperial legitimacy, Feng defied expectations. Completed in just ten months (688–689), the 294-foot-tall structure hosted state rituals, dazzling the court. Adjacent, he built the even grander Tiantang (“Celestial Hall”) to house a colossal Buddha—its little finger could hold dozens of people—showcasing Wu’s fusion of Buddhist and imperial authority.

2. Buddhist Propagandist
Feng’s monks scoured scriptures to justify female rule, unearthing the Great Cloud Sutra, which prophesied a goddess-emperor. This became the ideological cornerstone for Wu’s Zhou Dynasty (690–705).

3. Reluctant General
Appointed Left Guard General, Feng led farcical campaigns against the Turks in 689 and 694. Both times, enemy forces mysteriously vanished before engagement—allowing him to boast of “terrifying them into retreat.”

The Downfall: Arrogance and the Fire That Doomed Him

Flush with power, Feng’s hubris grew. He flaunted his status, once slapping a chancellor who dared challenge him. His downfall began when Wu Zetian took a new favorite: court physician Shen Nanqiu. In a jealous rage, Feng retreated to White Horse Temple, where his drunken brawls drew officials’ ire.

The final act came in 695 CE. After Wu ignored his grand Lunar New Year spectacle—a 200-foot blood-painted Buddha—Feng torched the Mingtang and Tiantang. The inferno, visible across Luoyang, destroyed symbols of Wu’s divine mandate. Though she publicly blamed “careless workmen,” privately, she plotted his demise.

Death and Legacy: A Cautionary Tale

Two weeks later, Feng was lured to the secluded Yaoguang Hall. Sources disagree on his killer—Wu’s nephew Wu Youning or her daughter Princess Taiping’s wet nurse—but all agree: he was clubbed to death. His ashes were interred at White Horse Temple, erasing a decade of influence.

Feng’s story illuminates Wu Zetian’s pragmatism and vulnerabilities. He provided companionship and political utility, yet his destruction of the Mingtang—a metaphor for overreach—proved unforgivable. His rise from obscurity to power, and his catastrophic fall, remain a timeless parable of favor’s fickleness in the shadow of absolute authority.

Modern Echoes: Gender, Power, and Historical Memory

Wu Zetian’s male favorites, long condemned as moral failings, today invite reassessment. Male rulers’ harems rarely drew comparable scrutiny, highlighting double standards in historiography. Meanwhile, Feng’s architectural legacy—though ashes by 695—inspired later Tang projects, blending Buddhist and imperial aesthetics.

In popular culture, Feng/Xue Huaiyi endures as a symbol of Wu’s unorthodox reign: a man who rode luck and charm to dizzying heights, only to learn that no one, however favored, is fireproof.